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Dr. B., Veterinarian

Category: Dog Veterinary

Satisfied Customers: 16287

Experience: Hello, I am a small animal veterinarian and am happy to discuss any concerns & questions you have on any species.

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My dog has pale gums and fluild retention in s abdomen. He

Customer Question

My dog has pale gums and fluild retention in his abdomen. He is 9 years old and he is on prednisone and has been on baytril as well. He is eating well and is not vomiting. He is lethergic. He has some diaherria. What are some of the possibilities that could be wrong with him?

Hello & welcome, I am Dr. B, a licensed veterinarian and I would like to help you with today. I do apologize that your question was not answered before. Different experts come online at various times; I just came online, read about your wee one’s situation, and wanted to help.Again I do apologize that my colleagues could not aid you sooner, but can you tell me:What tests did your vet do to diagnose this?Does your lad have urinate large volumes, or have a heart condition?Was the diarrhea severe or present for a long time?Are his gums pink or pale/white?Can you take a breathing rate for me (just count his breaths for 10 seconds + multiply that by 6)?

He has not had an ultrasound. However he does have an appointment this after moon

Customer:replied 1 year ago.

Sorry, an appointment this evening. His stool is dark brown not blackHe is one of my show dogs and he was put on baytril to see if he might have a lowgrade infection, because his sperm count low. He was given a nexgard on July 15th. He is also on thyroid meds .8 once a day.

Thank goodness!I am very glad to hear that you are having him scanned today. Hopefully, they will also take a sample of the fluid present. My concern here is that pale gums + fluid retention do raise some serious concerns. We can see them when there is an internal bleed (though this sounds to be more a chronic issue and not a sudden one). Also, and my major concerns here, we can see these signs with underlying heart disease, liver disease, and when an animal has a deficiency in blood proteins (often related to chronic diarrhea or protein loss in urine).Otherwise, we can see the distended abdomen with fluid in cases where there is a bacterial infection (peritonitis), though that sounds less likely here. As well, we do see diseases of the lymphatics and also cancer cause fluid to build up in the abdomen.So, those would be our concerns here for what may be triggering his signs. And again a ultrasound is highly advisable here since it is a good non-invasive way to see what is going on in that abdomen (to see the fluid, the state of his organs, and see if there are any growths present). By using this tool and checking the fluid type, your vet will be able to greatly narrow our concerns for your lad. Depending on which issue is present, they can then advise you on his prognosis and the best way to help him.Please take care,Dr. B.